Good morning? Not to Atlanta Public Schools trial judge
Jury selection has been a monotonous grind so far in the Atlanta schools test-cheating trial.
Over two weeks, 600 prospective jurors, organized into a dozen groups of 50, have entered the ceremonial courtroom to fill out lengthy questionnaires — one group in the morning and one group in the afternoon.
Before giving instructions, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter has allowed Deputy District Attorney Fani Willis to introduce herself and each member of the prosecution team to the jurors. He has also allowed the 12 defense lawyers to introduce themselves and their clients.
Depending on the time of the day, each prosecutor and most of the defense attorneys and their clients have said “Good morning” or “Good afternoon” to the jurors, who have then collectively given the same greeting in return. Sometimes this adds up to more than 30 exchanges of greetings.
By Tuesday morning, during the eleventh sitting, after four prosecutors each said “Good morning” and got the same response from jurors, Baxter had had enough.
“It’s really getting on my nerves,” he said. He explained to the jurors how long this had been going on and then asked defense attorneys to try to be creative.
“Top of the morning to you,” defense attorney Angela Johnson said.
“Attention!” bellowed attorney Hurl Taylor, a former Green Beret.
“Good tidings, everyone,” lawyer Keith Adams said.
“G’day, chaps,” said Akil Secret, before introducing his client, former assistant principal Tabeeka Jordan.
This time, jurors, while clearly amused, exchanged no greetings in return.
About the Author
Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
